Tyrese Maxey has built his reputation in the NBA as one of the league’s most electric offensive guards, a scorer with All-Star polish and growing All-NBA credentials. But on Thursday night, it was his defense that wrote the headline.

With the Philadelphia 76ers clinging to a 99-98 lead and the final seconds draining away at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Golden State Warriors guard De'Anthony Melton appeared to have a clear path to a game-winning layup.

What happened next was a blur: Maxey exploded from the opposite end of the court, sprinting full speed before launching into the air to block the shot at the buzzer, swatting away both the attempt and a near-disastrous collapse by Philadelphia.

The play immediately became one of the defining defensive moments of the young season.

Maxey’s teammates stormed the floor, celebrating a stop that saved the game more dramatically than the preceding offensive possession that put them ahead.

At that moment, a clutch finish at the rim by rookie VJ Edgecombe became almost an afterthought. Even Joel Embiid, no stranger to late-game heroics or monster blocks, admitted Maxey’s chase-down erased everything else from his mind.

“The block was amazing,” Embiid said afterward. “I almost forgot where we actually made the game-winning layup. I had to ask after. I was like, ‘Wait, who made the game-winning layup?’ That’s how good the block was.”

Maxey later joked that adrenaline and the fact that Melton is a close friend and former teammate added fuel to the play.

The victory improved the Sixers’ record and reinforced a growing theme: Maxey’s game is evolving beyond scoring bursts and speed.

He’s becoming a two-way closer, the kind of guard contending teams rely on when it matters most.

Edgecombe may have hit the deciding basket, but Maxey made sure it counted. And in the process, he delivered a highlight that even his MVP teammate couldn’t stop replaying in his head.